Public hearing on casino now set for April 23; James B. Marshall Elementary School location of discussion

Friday

Mar 29, 2013 at 12:01 AM

The date is now definite for a public hearing regarding a proposed casino plan that has been presented by the Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians.

By MIKE FORNESmike@cheboygantribune.com

The date is now definite for a public hearing regarding a proposed casino plan that has been presented by the Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians.The Mackinaw City Village Council will hear public comment at 7 p.m. on April 23, Village President Jeff Hingston has confirmed. The hearing will be held in the multi-purpose room at James B. Marshall Elementary School, 609 W. Central Ave. Earlier, a tentative date of April 11 was considered, pending any scheduling conflict at the school. That date didn’t work out, so the hearing is on for April 23.“The April 23 date is for sure,” Jeff Hingston said Wednesday. “I’m sure there will be citizens there to express their opinions on both sides of the issue.”Hingston again emphasized that the Council will not vote on the casino matter at the hearing.“We will listen to what they have to say and then take that back to a Council meeting where we will make our decision,”Hingston said.The $26 million casino would operate as a secondary casino to the tribe’s Petoskey location with only slot machine gaming and a small deli operational by a planned opening in 2014. As many as 100 construction jobs have been projected to complete the project with 80 new jobs expected to be created for casino workers. The location of the proposed casino is on tribal trust lands just south of Mackinaw City on South Nicolet Street, beginning at property formerly known as the Kings Inn Motel.In September 2003 the Mackinaw City Village Council rejected a previously proposed casino on a 6-1 vote.